Day 8—The Last Walk Up the Hill and a New Beginning (By Danielle Evans)

It is hard to believe that we are now sitting at the airport.  If feels strange that we have already spent a week here serving and working in Tegucigalpa.  The time has certainly flown by, and I think most of us are not ready to go home. I'm a jumble of thoughts and feelings----the noxious smell at the dump, dirty little fingernails covered in pink polish, precious grins and laughter of children, Pamela (Elba's daughter) constantly sweeping, loud exploding firecracker man-dolls, thankful mothers able to now feed their children, trash all over the city, sitting at the feet of the Jesus statue overlooking the city, tears of anguish and pain, buzzards, young people huffing glue, the happy exclamations of the lady ecstatic to use a clean bathroom at the homeless shelter, hauling wood up a steep hill, Mi Esperanza, tin shacks covering beautiful hills, drinking water from a plastic bag, feeding the hungry and more. it will take a while for us to sort out all that we've experienced in one short week.

Goodbyes this morning were tearful and heartfelt as we said our goodbyes and thank you’s. Thanks Rose and Hailey (interns from Michigan) for joining our team and giving us another perspective on the work. Thank you Jen (our hostess) for opening your doors to us on such short notice. You were a wonderful example of hospitality and love. Thank you David for helping us with our projects, hauling us around, and showing us the work at the homeless shelter. Thank you Lori for inspiring us with the work of Mi Esperanza and always sharing a hug. Mark. I don't know if we can thank you enough for your compassion, guidance, wisdom and love. You have truly walked us into the light with care, but with a challenge to follow Christ there. May God continue to bless you all. God is awesome!

This morning, after stuffing all of the suitcases and items we collected for Elba (the lady we built the house for) and her family we trekked off to surprise her with our gifts before heading to the airport. As a group we made a long trek up the steep hill carrying a month’s worth of food, toilet paper, clothes, shoes, a comforter and two chickens. Phew! Elba eagerly greeted us and welcomed us into her home to see how they had settled in. I’m so glad that we brought the comforter because the children were just sleeping on a plain mattress with a small blanket. But they've moved to the cleaner, bigger, brighter home and seem thrilled to have it. Elba made us all one of her famous tortillas before we left sharing from her own small provisions. 

 Elba and her three children are only a few who need our help. The need can be overwhelming, but this is the one we are starting with. Like Mark constantly told us: “if you can’t feed a hundred, at least feed one.” Can you imagine if we all fed our one? The world would be a much different place.

We’ve may have had our last walk up the hill on this trip, but this is not the end of our story. God has changed us and opened our eyes. I hope that in our hearts we’ve heard the cry for help and we are at the ready to charge forth helping others. But I don’t just hop, I know that we will. Our team has decided that we can make a difference wherever we are. We are taking the lessons that God has taught us this week and we are going to be his hands and feet in Atlanta where we live. The poor and hopeless live everywhere. While we hope to stay involved in the work going on in Honduras, it doesn’t mean that we can’t start working in our very own backyards. We aren’t just checking “mission trip” off our list and considering ourselves all done while patting ourselves on the back. This is going to be our lifestyle. Whether others join us or not, we are all in. I invite you if you are so inclined to join with us on this journey. We are on fire and looking for opportunities to serve, feed his sheep and be a tool in his kingdom. I hope and pray that you are too.

Thank you for all of you who have lifted us up in your prayers as we've been away. I ask that you continue to do so as we look for God’s guidance in where we need to serve once we are home. Perhaps we can continue to post the encounters we have in hopes that you and others will be inspired to also start in your own backyard. I pray that our hearts will continue to be softened, our eyes open, and that we will be filled with his boldness day by day as we strive to become more like our Savior.